


strawberry skies and blueberry eyes

by seungminis



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: ( just at the end, AU- Seungmin has blue eyes, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Basically, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Coming Out, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enjoy!, First Kiss, Fluff, Happy Birthday Seungmin, Hurt/Comfort, Hwang Hyunjin is Whipped, Hwang Hyunjin is a Panicked Gay, IHOP, Internalized Homophobia, Kim Seungmin is Whipped, Kim Seungmin is a Panicked Gay, Love Confessions, M/M, MINNIE BABY, MINNIE BEST BOY, Panic Attacks, STAN KIM SEUNGMIN FOR GOOD GRADES, Seungmin is Going Through It, also, and here's me using hyunjin to self project my love for seungmin, basically Seungjin are panicked gays, but you have to squint, chan i know you're watching, hi, i get poetic near the end lol, i'm experimenting okay), seungjin fall in love at an IHOP, someone take seungmin away from me, the blue eyes are a very important plot device, the chansung is there, yes it's my ult kpop emotional support boy's birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26594512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seungminis/pseuds/seungminis
Summary: Mr. Blueberry Eyes’ eyes sparkled under the white light shining upon the cash register he was working at as he rung up Hyunjin's strawberry pancakes.“Have a nice day!” He said cheerfully, “Also, blueberries are better.”or: Hyunjin, a regular at the IHOP on cle avenue, meets Seungmin, the new cashier with enamoring, blueberry-colored eyes.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Han Jisung | Han, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 20
Kudos: 71





	strawberry skies and blueberry eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wildwildhq](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildwildhq/gifts), [kim seungmin world's best kpop emotional support boy](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=kim+seungmin+world%27s+best+kpop+emotional+support+boy).



> well hello everyone! i am back and it’s seungmin’s birthday so here’s a oneshot for my ult kpop boy (read the end notes to see me cry about him!!). dedicated to my baby cousin yachi_ism for lowk beta reading all of it but the ending bc i had to sleep lol~
> 
> but anyway, this was inspired by blueberry eyes by max! i had a really really fun time writing this fic! it was originally supposed to be tooth rotting fluff, but I decided, what if i made this a little more complex, and connect fruit analogies to it and bring up seungmin’s eyes as a motif -ish? and also what if i added some more aspects to their characters? and boom: an originally 2k oneshot became almost 7.5k oops. 
> 
> and also a push came to a shove and suddenly seungmin is Going Through It, but you know hyunjin is there for him! also im just exploiting the fact that they’re both panicked gays i love these dorks.
> 
> (I would like to mention Seungmin has a panic attack in this story. 1. dont' read that part if you're easily triggered (it starts with "Hyunjin couldn't sleep that night" and ends with "Seungmin shrugged, "It might help". 2. these aren't universal symptoms of a panic attack - this is what happens to me personally when i'm really Going Through It, so i just applied it.)
> 
> i also got a little experimental near the end, so if you see me breaking the fourth wall and using tense changes and waxing poetic about seungjin, yeah, that's me experimenting~
> 
> regardless of my random ramblings, i hope you enjoy the fic! and happy birthday to seungminnie~ 
> 
> (also @chan+JYP, pls give seungmin blue contacts once! ofc, if he’s ok with it obv <3)

_our days, our nights, okay, our lives_

_U A-R-E M-Y light_

_friends who support each other_

_each other’s anchor_

  
  


If Hyunjin could choose to keep two things constant for the rest of his life, it’d be the solace of the fall breeze and the scrumptiousness of strawberry pancakes.

God, strawberry pancakes, how much he loved thee. 

They were delicious; you really couldn’t blame him. In fact, if he could, Hyunjin would _marry_ the breakfast food, swearing to love and cherish the pancakes for eternity. He went to IHOP on a daily basis to get some strawberry pancakes, even if it sucked the life out of his wallet; heck, he even dyed his hair a light pink because it reminded him of strawberries. The delicious breakfast was the reason why he had faith in humanity.

After all, strawberries were the superior fruit.

(He would later learn that the other berries were also good because of some really pretty boy, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here). 

* * *

Hyunjin’s first encounter with blueberries was short and sweet, like the fruit itself.

Hyunjin whistled a small tune as he strolled down the street, bundled in a soft fleece jacket so the chilly October breeze would embrace him instead of attacking him. He made a right at a crossing and stopped in front of the local neighborhood IHOP, excited to see the friends he’d made there. 

(Being a regular has its perks). 

However, he wasn’t expecting to see a ravenette boy that was definitely not Jisung (he was too tall to ever get close to being a Jisung) manning the counter. He looked up and the first thing Hyunjin noticed about the boy was that he had the most piercing, entrancing, deep blue eyes he had ever seen in his life. The boy smiled politely, “Welcome to IHOP! What can I get you?” 

Hyunjin smiled politely in response to the new employee's greeting, saying, “I’ll have two strawberry pancakes, please.”

The employee nodded before ringing up Hyunjin’s order. The receipt whirred out of the small printer by the cash register, the boy ripped it out, and handed it to Hyunjin with a bright sparkle in his eyes and a grin on his face.

“Have a nice day!”

“You too.”

With that, the first burst of new flavor in Hyunjin’s life subsided. 

* * *

  
  


The next couple of days flew by with similar interactions- Hyunjin would order his beloved strawberry pancakes, Mr. Blueberry Eyes, as Hyunjin liked to call him, would ring him up, and he would wish him a nice day.

One day, however, the routine the two men held would change, and Hyunjin would get to meet the person behind those Blueberry Eyes at the surface level. 

That day, a week or two after Blueberry Eyes started working at IHOP, Hyunjin had come in, ordered his strawberry pancakes to eat to go, Blueberry Eyes rung his order up. This time, when he handed Hyunjin his receipt, Blueberry Eyes’ eyes sparkled under the white light shining upon the cash register he was working at.

“Have a nice day!” He said cheerfully, “Also, blueberries are better.”

Hyunjin was taken by surprise; the sudden comment from the cashier came from out of the blue after all. 

“Really?” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow and Blueberry Eyes nodded, “Yeah. But that’s my opinion, yours are completely valid as well! The strawberry pancakes here are great.”

“They are. Though, I’ve never tried blueberries before.” Hyunjin agreed, mentally noting down the way the boy’s eyes shone whenever he was having a conversation, “I’m Hyunjin, by the way.”

Blueberry Eyes beamed. 

“I’m Seungmin! It’s nice to meet you.” he introduced himself happily, and then his eyes widened in realization, “Wait, you’ve _never_ had blueberries before?” 

Hyunjin shook his head no, and Seungmin hummed, the cogs in his head turning has he processed that information. The head pancake chef, Chan, rang the little bell on the counter where you could pick up your pancakes and called out, “Jinnie, your pancakes are ready!” 

Hyunjin startled, before nodding towards Seungmin, “Well, it was nice talking to you!” 

“Same here. Should I be expecting you again tomorrow?” Seungmin asked playfully and Hyunjin nodded. 

“Yep.”

“Well then, I’ll see you soon!”

Hyunjin bid the boy a farewell before picking up his packaged box of pancakes and leaving. Meanwhile, his mind was still fixated on those beautiful eyes of Seungmin, as he repeated the name again and again in his head.

_Seungmin_. 

He liked that name a lot. 

* * *

The next time Hyunjin had a notable encounter with Seungmin, besides the daily small talk, he learned that Seungmin was a waffle person ( and he didn’t really know what to do with that information ). 

“Morning, Hyunjin! Strawberry pancakes?” Seungmin called, the moment the door chimed at the time Hyunjin usually came. Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, impressed at Seungmin’s accuracy when guessing Hyunjin’s timing.

“You know it,” Hyunjin replied with a playful tone in his voice. Seungmin hummed, as he rung up the order and asked Hyunjin a question out of the blue yet again:

“I was wondering,” he began, “Since you love pancakes so much, what are your opinions on waffles?”

“Never tried them,” Hyunjin replied cooly, and if he was going to be honest, he found the way Seungmin’s sapphire eyes widened and the way his jaw fell ajar in almost amused surprise really endearing. Hyunjin chuckled shyly, a faint blush tinting his cheeks, “Well, I kinda stick to a regular routine. I don’t want to start my morning off on the wrong foot, you know?” 

Seungmin hummed in understanding, “That makes sense! For me though, honestly, as much as I love Chan and Jisung, I’m a waffle person and would rather be working at Waffle House.”

“Well, I’m glad you work here,” Hyunjin started teasingly, leaning and resting his hands on the counter, “Who else would tell me that my life is monotonous and boring the way that you do?”

Seungmin flushed a rosy pink as he giggled, “No one else, I suppose. I _am_ that good.” 

“You are.” Hyunjin smiled and then silence encroached upon the two of them as Seungmin’s smile faded, and became softer, and his blue eyes met Hyunjin’s chocolate ones. It wasn’t an awkward silence - in fact it was quite comfortable. The only awkward thing would probably be the fact that Hyunjin felt his neck getting warm and he could see Seungmin fidgeting, twiddling his thumbs in Hyunjin's peripheral vision.

He could stare at Seungmin’s eyes for a really long time. There was something about them- a hidden story, and Hyunjin wanted to figure it out one day. He _was_ going to find it out one day, he decided, he wanted to know the reason Seungmin’s eyes held so much depth and complexity in them.

Unfortunately, Hyunjin was snapped out of his trance by Jisung yelling, “Yo, loser, your order’s ready!” 

Hyunjin heaved out a sigh as he noticed Seungmin startle and avert his gaze from Hyunjin, cheeks holding an amaranthine tint.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Seungmin stuttered and Hyunjin nodded awkwardly, “You can bet on it.”

“Well then, have a nice day, Hyunjin.” Seungmin grinned and bid Hyunjin a farewell.

Once again, Hyunjin left with the image of Seungmin’s eyes and puppy-like smile embedded in his brain. 

* * *

It eventually became inevitable that Seungmin’s existence would lead to Hyunjin breaking his banal daily routine. After all, the younger boy did point out that everything in Hyunjin’s life was “uber repetitive”; Hyunjin just didn’t expect him to take initiative about it. 

That specific day, Hyunjin walked in to see Chan manning the counter instead of Seungmin and he was taken by surprise. Chan donned a lopsided grin as he greeted Hyunjin, “G’day Jinnie!”, he exclaimed, Aussie accent thick and present, “Seungmin’s on a break.”

Hyunjin cocked his head, confused as to why, and Chan’s expression showed that he understood what Hyunjin was thinking, and the bleach blonde haired man pointed to an area behind Hyunjin “He’s sitting in the booth by the window, if you want to talk to him. I’ll bring your order there.”

“Thanks,” Hyunjin nodded and he glanced over to where Chan gestured. There Seungmin sat, engrossed by something on his phone. Hyunjin shrugged to himself - talking to Seungmin made his morning, so he wasn’t going to leave here without doing that. 

He subtly slid in to the seat across Seungmin and the younger boy didn’t seem to notice. Hyunjin took this opportunity to observe the little things about Seungmin - like the way his eyes seemed to be stormy with some unreadable emotion , the way his black hair fell into his face and shadowed his expression, the way his lips were set into a small pout.

It was adorable, if you wanted Hyunjin to be honest.

“Hi,” Hyunjin spoke up, and Seungmin threw his phone up to the air as he let out a surprised squeak; the device clattered on the table (thankfully it wasn’t broken) as Seungmin looked up, and his surprised expression quickly turned into a warm, shy smile.

“So we meet again,” Seungmin says jokingly, and Hyunjin noticed the tips of his ears were a flaming pink, “How are you doing today, Hyunjinnie?”

_Hyunjinnie?!_

(He decided right then that he liked the nickname Hyunjinnie).

“I’m doing good. How come you’re on a break?” Hyunjin asked curiously, hoping that Seungmin wouldn’t take it as an invasion of his privacy. 

Seungmin shrugged as he replied bashfully, “ _Because_ , your life is incredibly monotonous. I thought maybe you could use a change?”

Hyunjin was surprised, yet again, but then again Seungmin was full of these kinds of things, as he’d later find out; he didn’t expect Seungmin to care so much about him. After all, he was just a regular boring customer who ordered the same old order every day, and Seungmin made him feel the opposite of boring - like Hyunjin was the most exciting thing to happen to him.

Just then Jisung stopped by the table and set down a plate of two strawberry pancakes in front of Hyunjin and drawled out an, “Enjoy your pancakes, loser.” 

‘Thanks, you idiot.” Hyunjin stuck his tongue out in response and Jisung scoffed before scurrying away. The pinkette began digging into his pancakes, before asking Seungmin, covering his half-full mouth, “Anyway, how are you today?” 

“I’m… doing fine. Yeah, I’m doing fine.” Seungmin hesitated, unsure of himself, before adding with an chuckle, “It’s just the same old stuff, show up to work in the morning, question my life choices in the evening. I did find out my sister’s getting married, though.” 

Hyunjin gasped in excitement, “That’s amazing! Congrats to your sister.” 

Seungmin nodded, half-smiling, “It’s exciting. Everyone’s moving so fast”. He trailed off at the end of the sentence, getting lost in his own thoughts.

Hyunjin chose not to prod any further that day.

* * *

Seungmin started taking breaks more regularly, usually around the time Hyunjin came so he could sit with Hyunjin, who started dining in since that day. 

And of course, as you’ve been expecting, something new happened this time as well: Hyunjin tried blueberries _and_ waffles for the first time.

Seungmin had been waiting for him in their designated booth, reading the daily newspaper. Hyunjin slid in across from Seungmin as Chan and Jisung worked on making Hyunjin’s pancakes. Seungmin noticed right away, setting down a red marker and closing the paper, covering the page he was reading. 

Maybe he was doing the crossword puzzle. 

“Hi, Hyunjinnie,” Seungmin greeted, flushing when he said the nickname, per usual, and Hyunjin smiled, “Hi, Seungminnie. How are you today?”

“ I’m doing okay, what about you?” Seungmin shrugged, blue eyes, despite being a cool color, coming off as completely warm as they stared at Hyunjin. Hyunjin smiled, “Doing fantastic. I might get a raise in my job soon.”

Seungmin gasped and his face light up and he was practically _glowing_ ; Hyunjin found it almost ethereal. “That’s amazing! We should celebrate.”

“How?” Hyunjin inquired and the ravenette across from him shrugged.

“What if,” he mused, clearly shuffling through the filing cabinet of ideas in his head, “What if we mix it up a little?”

_Mix it up? What’s that supposed to mean?_

_Oh my god, is he suggesting something… smexy?_

“W-what do you mean by _mix it up?_ ” Hyunjin choked out and Seungmin looked like a lost puppy, wondering what Hyunjin meant before embarrassment flashed on his cheeks and in his cerulean eyes. He let out a tiny noise in embarrassment, a really quiet, high pitched and nasally “ _Aaaaaa”_ sound as he shrunk into himself. It took a few seconds for him to regain his composure but when he did, he just heaved out an exhausted chuckle and answered Hyunjin’s question.

“I-I meant like, what if we got you something different than strawberry pancakes?”

“How would that be celebrating, though?” Hyunjin asked, and Seungmin grinned lopsidedly, his imperfect but dazzling smile on full display, “Well, you never know if you never try. This could be your way of getting loose like a cool kid.”

“What even?” Hyunjin laughed, “You don’t get loose either.”

Seungmin pouted, “This isn’t about me though. This is about _you_. How about this? You already ordered your pancakes. I ordered some waffles earlier. You try my waffles and tell me if you like them.”

“Well, I don’t know…” Hyunjin began, his gaze flicking down to his hands folded in his lap, before flicking back up to Seungmin’s eyes, then his nose, then his _lips,_ and in a fit of gay panic, back to his eyes again. The younger seemed to be giving him the Seungmin-equivalent of the puppy eyes, and with those _stunning_ blueberry eyes, they were pretty damn effective.

“Okay, fine,” Hyunjin huffed playfully, “But if it turns out to be bad, you’re paying for my order.”

A flash of discomfort appeared on Seungmin’s face for a split millisecond before his cheerful expression returned, “Alright, bet.” 

They passed the time, talking about Hyunjin’s coworkers’ love octagon and the one time Chan tried making waffles with Vegemite (only for it to turn out to be far different than the trio of IHOP workers expected). 

Chan stopped by with his “trademark McDreamy-style grin” (according to Jisung) and two plates of fruity breakfast food. (Recently, as Hyunjin would find out, Jisung had been watching a crap-ton of Grey’s Anatomy and unanimously declared as a party of one that Chan was the McDreamy of the three workers. Seungmin apparently ended up flicking a blueberry at him). 

“Bon appetit,” Chan grinned and Seungmin and Hyunjin thanked him before he walked away. The two glanced at each others’ plates and Hyunjin can’t help but think how Seungmin’s blueberry waffles were so distinctly _Seungmin._

Maybe it was his eyes and how they match the shade of the blueberries sitting inside the little impressions of the waffles, or the fact that his personality was as sweet as the whipped cream that topped off his plate.

Suddenly, Hyunjin wanted to try blueberries and waffles more than ever. 

Seungmin glanced from Hyunjin’s plate to Hyunjin’s face, and he asked, “So you wanna try my waffles?”

“Sure,” Hyunjin replied, and so, Seungmin took his butter knife and fork and carefully sliced up a small piece of his waffle, making sure to get the blueberries and whipped cream on his fork before handing it to Hyunjin. They had trouble figuring out how to transfer the fork without dropping the waffle bit, so Hyunjin impatiently huffed out a “just feed it to me”, while blushing hard.

Seungmin’s cheeks matched the strawberries on Hyunjin’s plate. “W-Well then,” he started, tripping over his own words, “Say ‘ah’?”

Hyunjin opened his mouth so Seungmin could place the fork in Hyunjin’s mouth and Hyunjin took a bite out of the waffle. Frankly he was surprised at how _delicious_ it was. The sweetness of the slightly overripe blueberries mixed with the crispy golden waffles and soft whipped cream in his mouth blended beautifully and graced Hyunjin’s tastebuds. The pinkette let out a surprised, yet impressed, hum and Seungmin smiled.

“Is it good?”

“It’s freaking delicious.” Hyunjin muffled in response, mouth half full. Seungmin opened his mouth to say something else, but his phone rang. He quickly glanced at it and frowned; that was the first time Hyunjin saw him frown and he took the time to observe it. He kind of found the way Seungmin’s brows furrowed towards the bridge of his nose and the way his breath hitched in an anxious kind of way concerning, but he still couldn’t help but by entranced by the boy.

Seungmin looked up and smiled apologetically at Hyunjin.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” 

Seungmin didn’t come back for thirty minutes. Hyunjin reluctantly had to go to work.

* * *

  
After the waffle incident, Hyunjin was hit with the revelation that maybe he liked Seungmin as more than a friend. He didn’t know what triggered it - maybe it was Seungmin feeding him a bite of waffle - but it came in the spur of the moment at the middle of the night when he was having trouble sleeping. 

He merely accepted it as a fact of his life and moved on without any denial.

* * *

Hyunjin and Seungmin ended up eating both waffles and pancakes on the regular, and every day, Seungmin would close his newspaper on his crossword puzzle, and they would share conversations that would make Hyunjin’s heart flutter and Seungmin’s lips stutter. 

Seungmin got another phone call when they were in the middle of a conversation about their college roommates. He checked the caller ID, and Hyunjin saw some kind of storm brewing in Seungmin’s eyes.

(He hated seeing that, but at the same time, he wanted to know more).

“Crap,” Seungmin chuckled sadly, “I gotta take this real fast. Be right back.”

“Take your time.” 

Seungmin excused himself from the table and Hyunjin could hear him faintly talking a little further away. “Hey, mom.”

Hyunjin couldn’t really hear anything except some indecipherable murmurs after that so he hummed to himself, twiddling his thumbs and taking nibbles out of his pancakes. The air conditioning vent was right above their table so the pages of the newspaper fluttered underneath the soft gusts of cool air. 

“Huh,” Hyunjin muttered. He was curious what the crossword puzzle was for that day, so he reached over and pulled the newspaper to his side of the table, and Seungmin’s red marker rolled out from within the pages and tumbled onto the floor.

“Let’s see,” he said to no one in particular, “What page is the crossword puzzle on?”

He flipped to the pages where the marker used to sit and his eyes widened. 

That wasn’t the crossword puzzle.

Instead, the page for job listings laid spread in front of Hyunjin’s eyes with red x’s, large circles and giant questions marks scrawled all over the layout. He glanced at a few of them and noticed a pattern - the circles all had to do with advertising, while the question marks were jobs similar to the one he had right now. Hyunjin assumed the X’s were jobs that Seungmin got rejected from. 

Was he trying to find a second job? Was he trying to quit his job here?

_Was Seungmin doing okay?_

Hyunjin’s heart hurt at the sight, mainly because this was probably the reason Seungmin wasn’t as happy these days. Seungmin wasn’t really one to talk much about his current state of being, Hyunjin realized, he’d often tell stories and share what he liked (he especially liked the K-band Day6 and Hyunjin found the way Seungmin's eyes lit up when talking about Wonpil adorable, but he digressed), but the boy would always say he was doing fine and would drop the topic. 

Hyunjin wanted to help in any way he could, but if he did, Seungmin would know he had been snooping around.

With an ache in his feelings, he set the newspaper back where it was and folded it shut like it was before, burying Seungmin’s problems back within the inked pages. 

* * *

Hyunjin didn’t really expect the revelation that he _loved_ Seungmin, nor the revelation that maybe Seungmin felt the same way, to come soon after his initial discovery of his crush, but hey, life was full of surprises right?

Seungmin broke routines a lot more after that, opening up more to Hyunjin and growing closer to the elder. (He also got a couple of more phone calls, but Hyunjin would prefer not to dig into business that wasn’t his). The younger seemed more comfortable around Hyunjin and maybe Hyunjin and Seungmin’s hands would linger closer to each other when they were resting them on the table. Maybe sometimes, their hands would absentmindedly touch and a strawberry colored blush would tint the tips of their ears and the backs of their necks, and Seungmin’s eyes would light up like fireworks at night time.

It was endearing and beautiful; Hyunjin loved to see it.

Hyunjin’s second revelation hit him when he found Seungmin in the IHOP parking lot at 2 am in the morning. However, in order to understand why Hyunjin was in an IHOP parking lot at 2 am in the morning, we need to backtrack a few hours, back to the morning of that day.

Hyunjin walked into the IHOP that day, expecting to see his favorite person, but instead Jisung was manning the counter and Seungmin wasn’t sitting in their usual booth - or any booth for that matter. 

“Hey, loser, pancakes?” Jisung greeted loudly before giggling as Chan backhugged him - when did those two happen?

“U-um yeah,” Hyunjin said absent-mindedly and Chan added while still hugging Jisung, “Seungmin’s taking the night shift today. He had something come up.” 

Hyunjin looked in surprise at Chan and Jisung - he didn’t really expect to be that obvious about his curiosity about Seungmin. The pinkette asked, “Do you know what came up?” 

Jisung shook his head quietly, and Chan mimicked the action before releasing his hug on Jisung and heading back over to make Hyunjin’s strawberry pancakes.

“Actually, you know what?” 

Jisung nodded, signaling for Hyunjin to continue.

“Cancel my order, I’m not feeling it today.” 

“Woah, what?!” Jisung sputtered, surprised that Hyunjin broke his boring, everyday routine. Hyunjin shrugged, repeating: 

“I’m just not feeling it today.” 

Jisung smirked, waggling his eyebrows, “Ah, I think I know why.” 

An image of a grinning Seungmin flashed in Hyunjin’s brain and the color of his cheeks began to match his pink hair, as he sputtered, turning on his heel and marching out the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” he screeched.

That was that.

* * *

Hyunjin couldn’t really sleep that night. He huffed out a sigh as he stared at the ceiling of his small bedroom watching the ceiling fan turn round and round and round- 

_I’m hungry._

Hyunjin groaned loudly, not concerned about waking anyone up because he lived alone, as he tried to muffle the mating calls his stomach was attempting to make.

_I want pancakes._

Hyunjin didn’t want to resist his pancake cravings - he actually did want to sleep that night, instead of being kept awake by his unreasonable hunger. He rolled over and reached out blindly, patting his nightstand until his fingers curled around his phone. He switched it on and checked the time - 2 AM. He chuckled at the way he was now breaking his routines without Seungmin’s help as he rolled out of bed, pocketing his phone in the front pocket of his sweats and reaching out in the dark, finding a zippered hoodie and sliding it over his old college T-shirt. 

The fall breeze whistled in his ears the moment he set foot outside the house and Hyunjin smiled to himself. The coolness of the former would always give Hyunjin company during these months. He whistled the tune to his favorite GOT7 song (which happened to be “You Are” at the time) as he walked down the one street’s distance between his apartment and IHOP, and when he turned into the parking lot, he was surprised to see a hooded figure sitting on the curb of the sidewalk, elbows rested on knees and face buried in hands. 

Oh. He was going to get mugged. 

(This wasn’t necessarily the most crime-safe part of town, after all). 

He cautiously approached the IHOP, hoping the potential mugger wouldn’t notice him, but then he saw the figure’s shoulders shake, and as he got closer he heard whimpers - whimpers in a familiar voice he’s heard and known too well. He saw fingers that usually worked the cash register running through a messy mop of black hair and he knew this wasn’t some street punk.

It was Seungmin, and he was _crying._

Right, Seungmin was taking the night shift. 

Hyunjin’s heart clenched at the sight and all of his plans to go for a midnight run for pancakes were thrown out of the window. Now, his focus only remained on Seungmin - he would do anything to make the younger feel even just a teensy bit better. He quietly sat down on the curb next to the crying boy, and Seungmin didn’t seem to notice. Hyunjin took a second to observe Seungmin’s state of being before letting him know he was there - he heard tiny gasps in between quiet whimpers and sobs and those gasps were becoming less and less spaced apart. 

Seungmin was hyperventilating. 

Crystalline tears were dripping from the youngers eyes and onto the sleeves of his black hoodie and his blue jeans as he coughed, choking on the large amounts of air he was inhaling in such a short amount of time. He was gripping his arms tightly, mindlessly rubbing his hands up and down the limbs to try and keep himself anchored to reality. 

_Oh, crap._

This was a panic attack. Or at least Hyunjin _thought_ it was one. 

Hyunjin hesitantly placed a hand on Seungmin’s shoulder and the boy startled, looking up from his hands to see who was touching him, only to freeze when he saw it was Hyunjin. Hyunjin stared, stunned at how freaking _beautiful_ the boy managed to look, even if he was in the middle of a meltdown. The tears made his eyes shine like jewels under the streetlights of the IHOP, but Hyunjin brushed the idea away. It wasn’t the right time.

“Hey,” he whispered soothingly, rubbing his hand on the back of Seungmin’s shoulder. Seungmin gave him a despondent look and asked quietly, voice cracking:

“What are you doing here?”

Hyunjin smiled softly, “I wanted pancakes, but that’s not important right now. What’s going on, Minnie?” 

Seungmin stiffened under Hyunjin’s touch at the nickname as he averted his gaze, “It’s not really that big of a deal. There’s no need to burden yourself with my problems.” 

Hyunjin shook his head, “But I want to know what I can do to help you. This isn’t some burden to me.” 

Seungmin looked surprised, surprised that someone actually cared for him this way - the way where they’d sit next to him and listen to him cry. He was surprised that Hyunjin was there for him. His bottom lip trembled as he let out a broken sob, trying to take in a deep breath, but struggling to do so.

“Why am I even a failure at breathing properly?” He choked out. Oh dear, was it his first time having one of these?

The dull ache in Hyunjin’s chest grew as he pulled Seungmin into a hug. Seungmin’s beautiful blue eyes widened in surprise before the boy opted to bury his face in Hyunjin’s shoulder and hug back.

“You’re having a panic attack, or some kind of meltdown,” Hyunjin informed quietly, still rubbing Seungmin’s back, “Can you try to match your breathing with mine?” 

Seungmin nodded slowly against Hyunjin's chest, letting out a shaky breath, and Hyunjin began to slowly take in deep breaths and breathe them out. Seungmin seemed to relax a little under Hyunjin’s touch, taking in long but shallow breaths before eventually matching Hyunjin’s deep breathing. They sat in silence on the curb, in each others arms, with only that sound filling the air. 

Once Seungmin was calmer, he pulled away from Hyunjin’s hoodie and apologized for causing him so much trouble at 2 in the morning. Hyunjin shook his head as he stretched out his legs in front of him.

“It’s not any trouble, Minnie. Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Seungmin shrugged, “It might help.”

“It might,” Hyunjin agreed and Seungmin mimicked his position, resting his hands on the sidewalk beside him and leaning back, while his legs stretched out in front of him. 

“Well, it’s a lot, I guess. Maybe I should start with the fact that this IHOP job is temporary.” Seungmin began, and Hyunjin looked at the younger surprised. Seungmin chuckled sadly as he wiped a tear from his eyes - Hyunjin noticed that his trademark sparkle was starting to return, and that made his heart warm a little.

“Yeah,” Seungmin said, “I’m an advertising major. This was just kind of a filler way to make money while I’m in between jobs, because I got laid off from my old workplace.”

“Ouch,” Hyunjin winced, and Seungmin nodded, taking in a deep breath.

“I know, right? Anyway, I thought I could get a new job pretty quickly, but considering it’s been 5 months and I’m still here, that’s obviously not working. And IHOP workers don’t get paid much. I’m, like, struggling to pay my bills, and it’s getting hard to make ends meet.” 

That explained everything with the job listings Seungmin was looking at. Hyunjin merely nodded in understanding, so he wouldn't keep interrupting the younger.

“And to add on to that, my _parents_ keep pestering me about my life. They keep asking ‘Oh Seungmin, why are you still working at IHOP? Get a real job.’ and ‘Seungmin, did you find a girlfriend yet? Your sister’s already engaged, keep up.’ and I-I’m just…” Seungmin took a deep breath in as he felt his breathing speed up again and Hyunjin instinctively rested his hand on Seungmin’s indicating that he wasn’t alone, and Seungmin relaxed again. 

“I feel like I’m so far behind," he started slowly, "and I’m just going to let everyone down. Especially my parents. I’m struggling and I’m probably never going to get a girlfriend. I’m a failure.”

Hyunjin’s heart hurt - did Seungmin _want_ a girlfriend? Well then, he just crushed on a straight boy. He could add that to his resume-

“I don’t swing that way, and my parents don’t know about it.” Seungmin laughed wryly, cheeks tinted a rosy color, as he noticed the look of bewilderment on Hyunjin’s face. Oh, come on, it’s not like Hyunjin was trying to be obvious about it!

“Yeah, and if I tell them, I don’t know how they’re going to take it, so I just keep it to myself.” Seungmin shrugged, “I guess all of that kind of built up and I kind of broke down? It doesn’t really seem like a big deal anymore.” the ravenette averted his gaze to the concrete before them. 

Hyunjin gently cupped Seungmin’s cheek. “Hey, look at me.”

Seungmin turned his head so his electric blue eyes met Hyunjin’s, and Hyunjin's heart tried to lurch out of his ribcage.

_Not now!_

“Minnie, it _is_ a big deal. Your well being is important, okay? If you think something’s a big problem, it’s a big, valid problem.” Hyunjin chastised in an understanding manner, a manner that told Seungmin that he was _important_. 

“I’m glad you told me,” he continued, using his thumb to brush a tear away from Seungmin’s cheeks, “You’re not any kind of failure. If anything, I find it so amazing how you still have a smile on your face and that cute sparkle in your eyes despite going through rough times. You’re brave and that’s beautiful.”

Seungmin cheeks flushed under Hyunjin’s touch.

“Really?” he asked shyly and Hyunjin nodded.

“And I can help you get out of this.” he added and Seungmin’s eyes lit up, prompting Hyunjin to continue, “You see, Chan has an ex boyfriend, Minho, who works in IHOP corporate. We used to practice dance together for fun before he got all busy, and he and Chan had a friendly split a year or two ago. I could help you reach out to him, if you’d like to work in advertising for IHOP. I heard he’s been looking for someone for a while.” 

Seungmin gasped in excitement, eyes still glistening with tears from crying earlier, yet his lips held a soft smile. “I’d love that. _God_ , I love you. Thank you, Jinnie.” 

Hyunjin froze before gasping, “Wait, you _love_ me?” 

Seungmin squeaked in embarrassment upon the realization that he accidentally let a confession slip out of his eagerness. Hyunjin chuckled at the younger’s flustered reaction (but in reality his heart was choosing to do a whole floor gymnastics routine in his ribcage). 

“Forget I said that, you heard nothing,” Seungmin waved his hands frantically and Hyunjin chuckled. 

“Is it true though?”

Seungmin turned redder than Hyunjin had ever seen him, trying to shrink back into his black hoodie and camoflauge with his surroundings.

Hyunjin would never expect a love confession to happen outside an IHOP, but hey, like what was said earlier: life was full of surprises. Seungmin _was_ one of the surprises in his life. 

Surprises were good, Hyunjin concluded as he noticed Seungmin open his mouth to speak.

“M-maybe it is,” Seungmin stuttered, “Do you feel the same way?” 

Hyunjin smiled, and with a burst of confidence, he pressed a quick peck to Seungmin’s cheek. 

“Maybe I do.”

Seungmin looked elated, and Hyunjin found it _adorable,_ but that didn’t take away from the fact that he was still struggling. He added on a quick attachment to his previous statement.

“I don’t want to rush into anything just yet, though. You’re going through some rough times, and I want to help you get out of it before doing anything big. Kisses don’t make everything better, right?”  
  


“Yeah,” Seungmin admitted, “That’s probably a good idea.” 

Hyunjin ruffled Seungmin’s hair, “Alrighty, sport, you should head home and get some sleep. You must be exhausted.”

Seungmin shrugged, “Well, I still have an hour in my shift- _wait._ What were you even doing here at ass o’ clock in the night?” 

Hyunjin flushed.

“Maybe I wanted pancakes.” 

* * *

With the help of Chan and Jisung, who Hyunjin had found out also dated Minho, Hyunjin was able to reach out to Minho and get Seungmin an interview with the advertising department at IHOP’s local corporate office. Minho had spoken fondly of Chan and Jisung, a little _too_ fondly. That wasn’t Hyunjin’s business though, and was probably a story for another time.

Seungmin attended a job interview at the regional IHOP corporate center a week later, and a week after that, he was manning the counter while subtly flirting with Hyunjin when his phone rang. Seungmin, upon seeing the caller ID, startled, blue eyes widening, and he picked up the phone without hesitation:

“Mr. Lee! How are you?” 

“Oh okay, Minho.” Seungmin said after a brief silence before another ensued, “Oh! Go ahead, I’m ready for it.”

Hyunjin watched anxiously as Seungmin talked to Minho on the phone. He really did hope Seungmin was able to get this job. “Uh huh.”

“Uh huh.”

“Thank you! Have a nice day.” 

“Yeah, bye bye.” 

With that, Seungmin hung up and turned to Hyunjin who was literally about to die from the 50 seconds of suspense. Seungmin watched as the elder rocked back and forth between both feet, nibbling anxiously at his fingernails, and Seungmin shrugged nonchalantly, returning to business at the cash register.

“Well, I’m leaving.” he announced. 

_Woah, hold up. What?!_

“You’re leaving?!” Hyunjin shrieked in a panic, and Seungmin giggled lightly, placing his hands on Hyunjin’s shoulders and calming him down, “You didn’t let me finish, silly.” 

“Oh.” 

“I’m leaving this job, because I’m the new regional Advertising coordinator for IHOP. I got the job, Jinnie!” Seungmin squealed and Hyunjin gasped, not hesitating to throw his arms around Seungmin and pull him into a very bone-crushing hug. Seungmin squeaked at the sudden skinship before giggling, unable to hug back because Hyunjin’s hug didn’t allow Seungmin to move his arms.

“I’m so proud of you, Minnie.” Hyunjin grinned as he pressed a giant kiss to Seungmin’s forehead. “Now there’s just one thing to go - coming out when you’re comfy.” 

Seungmin nodded, before wheezing out with his blueberry-eyed smile, “Can’t breathe.” 

“Oh, crap! Sorry!” 

* * *

Over the course of the following week, Hyunjin and Seungmin hatched a plan to figure a way to unleash the rainbow flag on Seungmin’s parents. Seungmin unfortunately couldn’t do it in person; his parents moved to Germany after Seungmin went to college and his sister moved to England, so it was just Seungmin in the US alone, living in Miroh out of all places. He had no support system for coming out, so Hyunjin chose to become it. The two did harbor feelings for each other after all. That day, when Hyunjin came in, Seungmin took a break (he had to work for two more weeks because of resignation policies) and the two sat down in their usual booth as Seungmin dialed his mom’s number.

He took a shaky breath in, blue eyes searching for comfort in Hyunjin. Hyunjin reached over and gave Seungmin’s hand a reassuring squeeze and Seungmin gave a wavering smile in response. He set his phone on speaker and set it down on the table, listening to the dial tone as he tried to calm himself down.

_Hello?_ a voice asked on the other end of the line. It seemed very warm and feminine and Seungmin relaxed a little at the sound, shoulders slumping in relief.

“Hey mom,” Seungmin greeted, “Is dad with you right now?” 

_Yes he is, should I get him?_ his mom replied and Seungmin nodded as he said “yes”.  
  


(Hyunjin found it really cute how Seungmin was interacting with body language despite the fact his mom couldn’t see him. That wasn’t the point, though). 

There was some clamor on the other side as Seungmin’s mom called for his dad. There was some grumbling, some bickering, maybe an “shush, old hag” thrown in the mix, causing Seungmin to giggle, before his dad joined the call.

_Hello Seungmin-ah_ , his dad greeted and Seungmin seemed nervously happy, in Hyunjin’s viewpoint.

“Hi eoppa. Listen, I have some news for you guys.”

_Ah, go ahead son!_ His mom encouraged, and Seungmin looked at Hyunjin for encouragement again. Hyunjin nodded with a sure look on his face, telling Seungmin that he could do it. Seungmin started, “Well first, some good news. I got a job at IHOP’s corporate office in advertising.”

_Aah! Oh my gosh, that’s excellent!_

_We’re so proud of you._

Seungmin beamed, “Thank you guys.”

_Now, all you need to do is get a girlfriend and get married,_ his dad said and Seungmin froze like a deer in headlights. Hyunjin had to reach over and shake Seungmin lightly to get him to snap out of his panic. 

_You can do it, Minnie, I’m right here._ Hyunjin thought as he gestured towards the phone. _Do it for you, you deserve this._

Seungmin’s gaze fell to the grey speckled table they were sitting at as he opened his mouth to speak, “Actually, that was my other piece of news.”

_Oh_ , his parents simply said as Seungmin continued.

“You see… I don’t really _like_ girls. I never have, and I don’t think I ever will.”

_Son, what are you trying to say?_ Seungmin’s dad asked, and Seungmin inhaled sharply before blurting out.

“I’m gay. I’m so freaking gay. I’ve only liked boys, and I currently… am _involved_ with one. I’m sorry-” he rambled before his mom interrupted him.

_Sweetie, why didn’t you tell us sooner?_

_We’re okay with this. You’re still the wonderful son we raised you to be, and that’s all that matters,_ his dad added and Seungmin gasped in elation, covering his mouth with his hands as tears welled up in his eyes, bringing back that jewel-like look that hypnotized Hyunjin. The elder rested his chin on his hands as he stared lovingly at Seungmin’s reactions, taking mental pictures of how beautiful the boy was.

_We’re going to have to adjust, of course, but we’d love to meet your partner one day._ His mom said, _but we’re so proud of you._

“T-thank you,” Seungmin stammered with a hoarse voice, probably because he was trying to stop the lump in his throat from growing, which would result in him bawling on the spot, “I love you guys so much.”

_We love you too. Take care,_ his dad replied fondly, and Seungmin grinned, tears flowing freely down his face.

“I will! Bye.”

_Bye_. 

With that, Seungmin’s parents hung up and Seungmin sat there, staring blankly, dumbfounded before he burst into tears of joy. He frantically wiped at them; he didn’t want to be such a crybaby, but life was really in his favor now, and he just got himself out of the biggest rut in his life. It felt so cathartic, all the emotions that he had pent up finally flowing out in a burst of triumph.

“Damn it,” Seungmin cursed while laughing and sobbing at the same time, “I don’t even know _why_ I’m crying.”

Hyunjin laughed, almost feeling the urge to cry himself, because Seungmin deserved this happy solution to his problems and he got up from where he was sitting across Seungmin, only to walk over to Seungmin’s side of the booth, squatting down so he was at Seungmin’s level, and wrapping Seungmin in a hug. Seungmin immediately twisted in Hyunjin’s arms, so he was face to face with the elder as he hugged back, hooking his chin on Hyunjin’s leather jacket-clad shoulder. 

“Thank you,” Seungmin said joyfully, “Thank you for everything.”

“Anything for you.” Hyunjin sniffled in return.

The two stayed like that for another 20 minutes, riding off the high of victory, and no one dared to disturb them, even Jisung, who wanted to tell them their breakfast foods were getting soggy.

This was their fairytale ending.

* * *

Now, you might be wondering: _hold up! Isn’t there something missing? This story seems incomplete. Why aren’t my boys making out?_

Boy, were you right - this story definitely _does_ seem incomplete, doesn’t it? That’s because there’s still one thing Hyunjin forgot to do, and that brings you all to the present day. Hang tight; this is what you’ve been waiting for.

Hyunjin and Seungmin make their relationship official a week later.

It’s the last day of Seungmin’s shifts at Cle Avenue’s IHOP before he moves to his new job and he and Hyunjin are enjoying one last breakfast break together, for tradition’s sake, because Seungmin probably wouldn’t be able to take breaks at his new job. 

(They’d find a way to share moments like these). 

They steal shy glances at each other while they hold a conversation about their dreams and ambitions for the future, before Hyunjin interrupts the flow of the conversation, bringing up something the two disregarded since they confessed to each other under the streetlights of the IHOP’s parking lot. 

“What are we?” Hyunjin asks and Seungmin is taken by surprise.

“What are we?” Seungmin repeats, and Hyunjin nods a small nod, causing the dangly earring he’s wearing to sway. “What are we? We never really made anything official since our confession.” 

Seungmin hums, blue eyes swimming with excitement at the prospect of new ideas, “We didn’t. What do you want us to be?” 

Hyunjin shrugs, “I want us to be together.” 

“I like the sound of that,” Seungmin grins with rosy cheeks, “Together it is. For now and forever.”

Hyunjin giggles, as the two exchange the three words they’ve said before, but this time, it’s deeper, more connected, because these three words mean everything to them. 

There’s still something missing though, Hyunjin thinks and he remembers what it is.

Without warning, he quickly leans over and closes the distance between them, and _God,_ it feels amazing, even if it's for a brief, yet tantalizing second. 

The distance between them becomes minimal, yet existent again, and Hyunjin has the taste of blueberries lingering on his tongue. Seungmin blinks, surprised, as he touches his lips, shocked at what just happened, before he beams.

“Took you long enough,” he teases, grabbing Hyunjin’s collar and making the distance between them vanish for good. 

* * *

Now, if you ask Hyunjin what he wants to keep constant in his life, he’ll smile fondly, looking up to the stars, as if he knows the reason why they shine so bright, before saying three things: “The crisp fall breeze, strawberry pancakes, and Seungmin” (not in any particular order).

After all, Seungmin was his other half: the waffles to his pancakes, the night to his day, the blueberry eyes to his strawberry skies.

They seem like such opposites to the common eye, but when they come together, they create something so messy, yet so beautiful.

Hyunjin would never trade it for the world.

  
  
  


_can’t wait to kiss you each morning,_

_under strawberry skies,_

_‘cause i get so lost in_

_your blueberry eyes._

_Fin._

**Author's Note:**

> bleh there are still some grammar errors, pls overlook imma proofread one more time later
> 
> anyways here's me simping over seungmin for an end note:
> 
> HAPPY 20TH TO MY ULTIMATE BIAS AND KPOP SUPPORT BOY!!! god i can't even put into words how special seungmin is to me. i'm not like romantically attracted to him but he's pulled me through some really dark times. especially last year, i didn't want to talk to people at all because of family issues and just the general fear of society and me going too deep into my own mind, but i'd listen to stray kids' music a lot and I just loved hearing Seungmin's voice. I could have been having the absolute shittiest day, but if Seungmin sang, I'd instantly cheer up. Honestly, idek where id be today without stray kids and seungmin - i'd probably still be in that dark place, but now i'm happier and even if i choose to revisit that place in my head, i have 8 boys to rely on, especially seungmin for some reason, to pull me out. ot8 are literally all my light, but seungmin has a really really really special place in my heart and tbh this dood will forever be my ult. i love him!!
> 
> i hope he has a happy 20th filled with the love he deserves and idek why i call him baby when i'm 4 1/2 years younger than him lmao
> 
> hope you guys have a happy minnie day too!
> 
> also i may have something more planned with chan, minho and jisung, so stay tuned~
> 
> stay safe, hydrate and like always, don't procrastinate! <3


End file.
